#IrishAnimation: The Breadwinner wins four awards at the 2018 Emile Awards

Cartoon Saloon and director Nora Twomey’s debut animated feature, The Breadwinner, won four major accolades at the 2018 Emile Awards in Lille, France, including Best Direction, Best Storyboarding, Best Character Animation and Best Background and Character Design.

The Breadwinner tells the story of eleven-year-old Parvana, who gives up her identity to provide for her family and to try to save her father’s life. A story of self-empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression, the film also celebrates the culture, history and beauty of Afghanistan with a cast that includes many performers of Afghan descent.

It was amazing being nominated in this category, especial with so many amazing political films. Nobody makes feature films like Europe. It’s an incredible honor to be part of this industry, part of this artform. If there are young female directors out there in the crowd tonight, I would say, don’t listen to that huge voice in your head that tells you ‘You can’t do it!’ because you absolutely can.Nora Twomey, Director

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Nora and the team at Cartoon Saloon on this wonderful news. These awards are richly deserved. The Breadwinner is a beautiful film about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of storytelling — it is universal and timeless and I hope many people continue to see it.James Hickey, Chief Executive – Screen IrelandFís Éireann/Screen Ireland (FÉ/SI) is the national development agency for Irish filmmaking and the Irish film, television and animation industry.

Since its world premiere at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival (TIFF)in September 2017, The Breadwinner, has achieved immense success on the international stage. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2018 Academy Awards and Golden Globes and garnered ten Annie Award nominations; taking home the ceremony’s accolade for Best Animated Feature, marking the first time a solo female director has won in this category.

The Breadwinner is produced by Paul Young of Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon (Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells) alongside Canada’s Aircraft Pictures, and Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions and Angelina Jolie serves as the title’s executive producer.

The Breadwinnerwas developed with support from Screen Ireland, Telefilm Canada, the Film Fund Luxembourg, Corus Entertainment, the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Belinda Stronach Foundation.